The Constant
by elijahsmanhood
Summary: "From the immaculate clothing, to the dimples, to the amused lilt of his accent; he was everything that she remembered him to be. He was an undeniable presence in her life…He was her constant." It's been forty-six years, and finally Caroline has shown up at his door. Smut Warning!


**A/N: No, no, you're not going crazy, this is actually genuine writing from yours truly. I know - I'm actually the worst when it comes to my consistency in posting stuff. It only took a birthday, and some hounding from my ever-patient friends to squeeze this out of me.**

**So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CARYN - mytraitorousheart on FF and carolinemykhaleesi on Tumblr - and I hope this fic somewhat makes up for my absence. This was developed from an idea that I originally had for tGoT, but I changed some of the aspects and really it developed into a whole new beast. Anyway, I apologise in advance for the absolutely abysmal smut, it's my first time writing it, but I hope it's okay overall. ENJOY!**

* * *

**The Constant**

_To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved._

_- George MacDonald_

He knew it was her on the doorstep before the doorbell even rang.

Though Klaus went to no great effort in hiding his movements – who did the most powerful being on the planet have to be afraid of? – he was surprised that she found him.

Having been in Demark for no more than a fortnight, the hybrid had made little new connections in the city and told few of his current whereabouts.

But then there was Elijah...

Klaus rolled his eyes as he lowered his paintbrush from the canvas and wiped his hands on the stained rag that lay nearby. Of course it would have been Elijah who told her where he was. He never understood the easy friendship that had formed between his eldest sibling and the blonde bombshell, but when they'd become reacquainted about ten years prior the two had formed some kind of understanding.

From her phone bills, it showed that she called him at least once a week. Not that Klaus payed attention to such things

Although following the doorbell came increasingly insistent knocking, Klaus took his time in answering her. Ever-the-Mikaelson he'd purchased one of the largest estates on offer, and so his trek to the front door was by no means short.

When he finally arrived in the foyer, quite sure that she was going to make the wood fall from its hinges if there was any further delay, he turned the knob without hesitation and was met with her unsurprisingly striking form.

She wore a blood-red dress that went to mid-thigh and hugged her so well that he involuntarily shifted as he felt his lower body react to the sight in front of him. She was definitely stunning, and with her blonde hair pinned back in a ponytail and small strands of it falling forward over her face and eyes, she looked as innocent as the day he'd first laid eyes upon her.

But he knew that although she looked the same, she wasn't. Forty-six years, although infinitesimal compared to his time on the earth, would change anyone's perspective on the life they no longer really belonged to; their humanity. As a vampire gets older, they become stronger, and their connections to that life begin to die out when they are forced to hide who they truly are, until nothing remains but a picture in their memory of a time long forgotten.

She might dress in snug denim jackets and wear expensive suede boots like the rest, but she wasn't one of them anymore, and rather than looking like another teenager in a crowd all he saw was a costume hiding what was underneath.

But she was still his Caroline

"Hello, Love." He smirked, and upon the realisation that he had finally materialised in front of her, she lowered her hand. He watched closely as her blue eyes travelled from his own to run shamelessly down his body and back up again, and he stood in the door un-phased by her perusal. He had never been a modest man.

When her gaze finally came back up to meet his, he found himself taken aback by the fire behind her eyes; something he might have mistaken for lust, had he not known her disposition.

Or perhaps he was merely trying to keep from being hopeful.

In all the years that he'd known her, Klaus could say that Caroline, while spontaneous, never liked to act so around him. Her moves and actions were always very calculated, as they were with most people who knew his true power. But saying so, she was also brutally honest with him, and she'd never given more than fleeting indications that on some level she returned his affections.

That is why, when in response to his greeting she leapt forward and planted her lips on his, Klaus was initially a little less than responsive.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and in her desperation for some type of response, she bit down on Klaus' lower lip. Although rather brash, the move had the desired effect and the pain seemed to pull him from his shocked daze. As her hands gripped roughly at the hair on the back of his head, Klaus opened his mouth to allow her demanding tongue entrance, and they both moaned in unison.

The two began battling for dominance over one another, and as quickly as she'd jumped him, one of his hands came up to plant itself firmly at her hip, while he reached down with the other to grab the back of her thigh. Understanding the gesture, Caroline quickly wrapped her legs around his waist without pausing for a breath.

For eight years she hadn't made a single appearance in his life, and now here she was. Of course he kept track of her at all times with his hybrids, but Klaus had stayed well away from Caroline just as she asked him; any encounter that they had were purely by accident or made under her terms and conditions. He wasn't often one to relinquish his control over something, but when it came to her, Klaus would follow any set of rules she laid down if it meant there was even the slightest chance she would be his.

Now here she was after all this time. She'd chosen him finally and the sense of elation and possessiveness that filled his being almost overwhelmed him. Finally, she'd shown up at his door just like he said she would and delivered herself right into his waiting arms. She was finally his.

But why now?

Reluctantly pulling his lips away from hers, he managed to get out –

"Sweetheart-"

Before she interrupted him by covering his mouth with her own once more.

"No." She said between breaths, "No talking."

But he needed to know why, and however much his body was yelling at his brain to stop delaying what it wanted, he pulled back once more.

"But, I need to know-"

"-why now?" she sighed, and repositioned herself in his arms. He had to hold in a groan as her body grazed right over his erection.

Looking into his eyes, he saw a flicker of desperation in her own that gave him pause. "Please, can we just..." she leant forward and planted a tender kiss against the soft flesh of his pulse-point. "Later... I promise."

And however much he wished to pursue the topic, he was always one to be gracious of her terms. From the look she'd given him, he could understand that perhaps she wasn't ready to tell him why, and that he would have to be patient with her. From this point forward everything would change, so he wasn't surprised that perhaps she saw jumping in as the easiest route for her to take.

So he stopped talking, which really wasn't that hard when he had the distraction of her centre grinding insistently into him, and began to reciprocate just as passionately as she delivered.

Although this was not how he imagined they'd come together, he couldn't really complain.

Now almost as eager as she, he pushed the denim jacket from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor while his mouth gained easier access to her skin; here he began periodically kissing, sucking, and occasionally biting at her neck and down to the valley of her breasts.

To his pleasure, Klaus heard a breathy moan as he delivered a decidedly long lick up her throat and jaw line, and he was sure that she felt him smirk against her ear. Biting down upon her lobe, while the hand not supporting her began to run down her chest, her body tightened under his deft fingers and she involuntarily bucked against him. Both parties groaned at the sensation.

Equally as frustrated and impatient to relieve themselves of any further delay, Klaus heeded to Caroline's gasped request of finding a bed and flashed them up the stairs into his lavishly decorated master bedroom.

He mused that if they had not been more preoccupied, she might have rolled her eyes at his bold choices when it came to interior decorating. Ever the showman.

Suddenly, he felt Caroline's hands find their way underneath his shirt and it succeeded in pulling him away from this short musing. She ran her nails all the way up his naked chest and he shivered at the sensation, before he watched her quickly withdraw them in order to rip the article of clothing from his body completely.

Klaus raised his eyebrows at her in amusement, and couldn't help but wonder why she was so hasty and desperate to move quickly, however he chalked it up to being the same reasons as his own; the wait had been foreplay enough.

Some part of him wanted to take her hands in his and tell her that they now had all of eternity to explore each other, but a stronger, more animalistic part was telling him to claim her as his already. Her eyes devoured him like a woman starved, and he couldn't help feel that desire grow like a fire in the pit of his being.

If she needed it hard and fast, he'd give that to her, because deep down it was what they both needed right now.

They made quick work of each other's clothing once Klaus took control. Setting her down on the edge of his bed, he pushed her back so that she was laying flat across the mattress, then he grabbed the bottom of her dress and yanked down; effectively breaking the straps and pulling it over and off her legs in one swift motion.

A growl left him when he realised that she hadn't been wearing a bra, and was only left lying before him in a set of lace panties which matched the colour of the dress. Almost losing complete control at that point, he made quick work of his trousers, and pushed Caroline back down to the bed when she began to sit up and help him. Klaus could work faster by himself, and very soon he found himself hovering over her lean form.

For a moment, he watched as an endearing amount of self-consciousness seemed to fill her eyes as his devoured the sight in front of him, but he extinguished it almost immediately.

"You are beautiful." He spoke softly, before leaning down to kiss her once more on the lips. It was slower than anything they'd shared previously, but that didn't make it any less passionate and before long they were soon back to their frantic pace.

His lips only left hers when he pulled back to smirk at the sound she made when he unexpectedly pinched one of her nipples between his fingers. Leaning down Klaus quickly soothed it by placing his mouth around her breast and flicking the darker flesh with his tongue, all the while massaging the other with a free hand.

As Caroline lay there too preoccupied with the sensations surrounding her body to make much sense of anything else, his other hand travelled down her abdomen to trace the line of her panties.

Chuckling as she bucked up in encouragement, he quickly slipped his hand beneath the material pulled it down her legs. Once they were discarded, and without taking his focus away from her breasts where he alternated his mouth's attention between the two, Klaus ran his hand down through her slick folds. Circling her clit once, to which he hungrily watched as her expression as she rose from the bed begging for more contact, he more than eagerly went straight for what she wanted and pushed two fingers into her.

His name fell from her lips, and if possible he felt himself grow even harder at the raspy nature of the plea. He knew what she was really asking for, and because it was everything he wanted and he couldn't wait any longer, Klaus pumped his fingers into her only a few times before withdrawing them completely and pulling back for a moment to look at her.

Not even giving her enough time to process the loss of contact that was created, Klaus settled between her legs and placed his hardened length at her entrance.

"Look at me," he said, and waited for her eyes to meet his own before he pressed forward.

Caroline wrapped her legs around him and moaned as he filled her, reaching up and digging her nails into his shoulders. He took his time, holding himself back on moving with haste only when he realised how frustrated she was becoming at the slow procession. Her impatience was obvious when she began to writhe underneath him, and he smirked down at her.

When she noticed this, she glared at him and bucked up sharply so that he finally filled her to the hilt. This made him quickly lose his grin, and he let out a long groan as she gasped, before he saw a small smile of satisfaction pass over her lips for having one-upped him.

However much her cheek pleased him, Klaus was never one to pass up the challenge that he saw twinkling behind her eyes, and never one to relinquish control when it came to sex. Before any other exchange was passed between them, he pulled all the way out, before slamming roughly back into her without a moment's hesitation.

Caroline's surprised cry was swallowed by his mouth as it came down on hers hard and fast. While they battled for dominance, Klaus began moving at a steady pace in, rocking into her and bring one hand down to circle her sensitive nub. She finally tore her lips away from his at this and mewled as she arched her back in pleasure.

"Harder," she managed to get out in a breathy whisper, before repeating herself much more forcefully and digging her nails into his skin. "Klaus. _Harder._"

When it came to Caroline, he never denied her much, and now it was no different. He hooked his arm under her knees and pulled her legs up, before he began pounding into her with earnest. This angle pushed him more deeply inside her and he could tell by the sweat glistening on her face and the look in her eyes that she was close.

"Come for me, sweetheart." He spoke without breaking eye contact, and he pressed down hard on her clit while thrusting into her at an increasing pace.

Watching Caroline come undone around him was ultimately what set off his own release. She threw are head back into the pillow, her eyes rolled back into her skull, and she scraped her nails down his arms hard enough that they left trails of blood behind. As he watched her, Klaus continued pumping a few more times before his own release found him and came in wave that rippled over his body.

Short of breath, and covered in their mingled perspiration, Klaus rolled to the side and fell back onto the bed so he didn't crush her under his weight.

For some time, the two of them just laid there in the quiet catching their breath unnecessarily, until after about ten minutes he finally rolled onto his side and looked at her. She did not do the same however, and continued staring up at the ceiling. It was only when he lifted his head to get a better look at her that he noticed silent tears spilling from the corners of her eyes, which she tried to mop up hastily upon noticing his perusal of her.

"Caroline," he said cautiously and in a steady tone.

Feigning ignorance, she turned her body towards him and smiled – or at least she tried to, but to him it looked more than a little forced.

"I'm fine." She said unconvincingly. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she quickly added, "Really."

"Oh, quite obviously," He spoke sarcastically, but when he saw her face fall at his words, his demeanour softened. "Talk to me, sweetheart. I may have been around a long time but I have yet to develop the ability to read minds."

"I..." she said, her voice shaky as another tear trailed down her face, "Later. I promise."

Repeating the same words she had spoken to him earlier did little to dampen his concern, but then Caroline made a move that distracted him from continuing his interrogation. Shifting her body forward to close of the small space between them, she curled up into his arms and buried her face into his neck.

To say that Klaus was a bit shocked by the move would have been an understatement. Having rarely if ever shared a bed with a lover after sex, the intimate gesture was even more foreign to him than it was to her. Even more so was the fact that this was Caroline, who he had always seen hold herself with a graceful strength in whatever situation she seemed to face. Now here she was letting her vulnerabilities show, to him of all people.

Klaus knew the gesture showed the level of trust at which she held him, and the significance of this left him reeling. Slowly, after a moment passed, he placed his open palm upon her naked back and pulled her in to him.

When she was settled, he was left running his fingers lightly up and down her spine.

Though she tried to hide it, the wetness on his neck alerted him to the fact that Caroline had continued to cry even while in his arms. Not knowing what to do, having never been in a position where he'd before wished to offer someone comfort, Klaus stayed silent until he felt her inhale deeply several times and run her nose across the skin of his throat.

She was hungry.

While he could not rectify a situation he had no knowledge of, he could help where possible while simultaneously showing her what the gesture of trust had meant to him.

Raising his hand from where it was tracing patterns along her spine, he lifted it in order to place it lightly on the back of her head, and stroked along her tussled hair a few times before speaking.

"Have at it, love."

At his words Caroline stilled completed, before he felt her lips move softly against his skin while she replied.

"Are you sure?" She whispered to him.

Instead of speaking again, he merely applied more pressure to the back of her head in response, and it was all it took to convince her. She ran her nose down his throat once more before she found what she was looking for. Her tongue flicked out and licked the flesh making his hand tighten in her curls, and he waited patiently while she adjusted herself.

Then she bit down.

* * *

Caroline rose from the bed as quietly as she could so as not to wake the sleeping Klaus. During their sleep the two had seemed to untangle themselves from one another for which she was grateful. Sneaking out of his house in the early hours of the morning probably wasn't her finest moment, but it was a necessity none-the-less.

She couldn't stay here.

Glancing over her shoulder back at him as she rummaged around on the floor for her clothing, she knew she didn't regret what had transpired a few hours earlier. But that didn't change anything; she wasn't ready, and selfishly she couldn't be here when he worked that out.

She cursed herself silently.

Why couldn't she have just found a random guy in a bar? Why did she have to fly halfway around the world just to get in Klaus' pants?

But of course, she knew the answer to her own question. Caroline coming to find Klaus didn't have anything to do with trying to relieve her sexual frustration; she was merely in a vulnerable state of mind and had been hoping to find someplace to shelter from her memories. In this day and age she had very few people she trusted, and surprisingly Klaus was one of them; after everything, he was the only one she could think of going to.

It wasn't like she'd planned to jump him as soon as the door opened, but he was so smug, and gorgeous, and most importantly_ familiar_. As time passes you watch everything around you change: your relationships grow apart, and you find yourself leading a life that's always moving. However when her eyes met his, it took her a moment to process what was in front of her because time appeared to have forgotten to take him with it. From the immaculate clothing, to the dimples, to the amused lilt of his accent; he was everything that she remembered him to be. He was an undeniable presence in her life, and she hadn't even realised that she unknowingly come to rely upon this; upon him.

He was her constant.

After everything that had happened, she had needed that. She had known the man who now lay behind her in the four poster bed would give her anything she'd ask for, and a few hours ago the answer to that question just happened to be him.

Feeling slightly guilty for having silenced his earlier questioning, Caroline knew that it had been a necessary evil. If she'd told him, then she would have had to relive what happened when all she wanted to do was forget. Perhaps on some level she thought that he would know how to fix things, but really the only thing left that needed fixing was her.

She felt like a china doll that had carelessly fallen from the edge of her shelf. But there was really no one who could glue her back together, and as she pulled her now-strapless dress over her form she became resigned to the fact.

A bandaid does not close a wound, only shelters it, and Caroline had always been adamant on making sure she didn't involve others.

She'd already broken that rule by merely coming here to him, but her moment of weakness was something that she would correct now. Soon he would wake up to find cold sheet where she had once lain and tomorrow the news of why she came here would eventually find him.

She wondered how constant Klaus would be after that.

Suddenly, her musings were broken with a jolt as the mobile on the bedside table lit up and began to ring. Stopping like a deer in headlight, she swivelled on her toe and watched as Klaus woke from his slumber.

As if by luck, he did not open his eyes as he reached out for the phone and answered it, bringing the device to his ear. She knew that this was her last opportunity to leave and have the opportunity to escape unnoticed, but it was as if suddenly her legs were refused to cooperate. If her heart was still beating, Caroline was sure that it would have woken up the whole neighbourhood, and the shock of anxiety that filled her aching chest meant that there she simply stood frozen like there was nothing she could do but watch as everything fell apart.

"This better be good." Klaus growled.

"_I have called to inform you that Elizabeth Forbes is dead."_

The words struck her like a whip, and she took as step backwards as if the blow was actually a physical injury.

They knew. _He_ knew.

Whether this was something she wished to face or not, Caroline no longer had a choice in the matter. Like looking at a car accident in slow motion, the memories replayed themselves in her mind like a slideshow on an old projector:

_Waking up and hanging upside-down in her car seat._

_Pulling herself from the wreckage, and turning back to look at the flipped, crushed remains of what was once a vehicle._

_Screaming out to her mother as she flashed around the car and ripped off the door._

_Pulling her mum's battered, bruised and unresponsive body from the vehicle._

_Forcing blood down her throat._

_Pumping her chest._

_Shaking._

_Sobbing._

_Pleading._

_And then silence._

She watched as the sleep left Klaus faster than she'd seen him rip away life. His closed eyes sprang open and he glanced over at her side of the bed, before quickly looking around the room and catching her form lingering a few feet away.

As his eyes met hers, she could see the fire behind them, and they pinned her to the spot better than any physical restraint could have.

"_-we have been unable to locate Caroline Forbes since she fled the scene of the accident almost 20 hours ago, I'm-"_

She caught the end of the explanation, but didn't hear anymore because he'd already hung up the phone.

Sometimes she forgot how old Klaus truly was, but when he became stoic or serious, it was like she could see the years boiling behind his eyes. It was as if a sea of experience swirled behind them, and in those experiences came the darkness that he exuded in his day-to-day living. It made him look like the supernatural being that he was, and reflected his power perfectly.

Blinking, she made a startled yelp when upon opening her eyes he was suddenly in front of her. She'd never seen anyone move so fast before. Not wanting to meet his eyes she lowered her own, but found that this was a grave mistake when she was met with another part of his anatomy. Had the situation not been so dangerous, she might have ogled him more openly, but instead she quickly cast her gaze to her hands instead.

Anything to avoid that stare.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a cold, calculated voice.

"I'm leaving." She said in a matter-of-fact tone, and feeling bold she bent down and began to slip on one of her boots as if to make a point. Caroline may have opened herself up to him earlier, but now she needed to use all her strength lest she completely fall apart in front of him.

Though she knew he would not think less of her, it was in her nature to push others away when they got involved in her problems, and Klaus was definitely no exception. There were two possible outcomes for this situation when it involved him, and she wasn't sure which was worse; the looks of sympathy that he'd give her because his feelings made him want to offer comfort, or the detached and uncaring nature he seemed to hold in regards to all human life.

Somehow the combination of the two made her feel sick to her stomach.

He reached out and grasped her upper arm just as swiftly as he'd appeared before her, and she yelped at the harsh grip.

"No, you're not." He spoke, squeezing hard enough that she attempted to rip herself away from the pain, although to no avail.

The anger was expected upon her leaving, but as she'd genuinely hoped not to be here at the time, she didn't know how to handle it. So she acted irrationally, as she always did around him, and retorted just as angrily whilst simultaneously failing to tear her arm from his hand.

"Seriously, what is your problem?" she cried out, and smacked him in the chest with her free hand before his other came up to grab that too.

"Well sweetheart, more often than not, it's you." He replied coyly, before raising his eyebrows as if he were waiting for a response to all his questions to come flying from her lips.

She scowled at him.

"If you don't mind then," she gestured to the door with her head, "I'll just find my way out and you'll be rid of me."

Releasing her with a growl, Klaus stepped back, before bringing a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose; a habit he'd adopted from Elijah. He began pacing a small path back a forward in front of her, and while it appeared as though he wasn't paying attention, Caroline knew that if she made any attempt to head toward the door he would stop her.

Halting, he turned and looked towards her. Blue met blue.

"Caroline," this time his voice was calm, almost soothing, "your mother is dead."

"Yes, I am quite aware, thank you very much. I was driving the car - in fact." She snapped out at him, but her voice cracked at the end and it sounded strangled rather than strong.

And there it was – out in the open at last. It was not only the death that haunted her, but the fact that she believed herself to be the cause of it. She saw the realisation wash over him as her words struck, and she had to look away.

"You came here." He said evenly, and she wasn't surprised that he neither apologised nor tried to comfort her about her mother.

"I came here to forget, that's all."

It was a lie and they both knew it, but for a moment neither party called it for what it was. Instead they let it hang in the air between them as they stared daggers at one another.

Each exchange they shared resulted in her regretting coming here more and more. Klaus was volatile, she knew that better than most, and it was why she had wanted to escape before he woke. She had knowingly used his affections for her against him, and regardless of her frayed mental state at the time, Caroline knew what she did was wrong. Now here she was watching as her actions-turned-mistakes unravelled.

And she had no one to blame but herself.

She caused the accident.

She killed her mother.

She came to Klaus.

"Someone doesn't fly halfway around the world just to 'forget', Caroline. If that were the case, you would have picked up any old stranger at the bar and taken him for a good romp in the backseat. Yet here we both stand."

"People do a lot of crazy things when they're overcome by grief." She shrugged with feigned nonchalance, wishing the ground would simply open up and swallow her whole so she could escape from the situation. But it was no use, because there was no way he would simply drop the topic.

What she'd done wasn't something you simply let go of.

Anyway, this was Klaus, and even then she knew the majority of what he was saying was true, because she'd reasoned it all herself. Of course she saw more in him than a convenient source for forgetting; however she was no more ready to deal with that than she was with her mother's death.

"People also do crazy things when they're in love." He spoke quietly to her, stepping forward so that he was once more in her personal space. She found it hard to meet his eyes with her own, but knew that it was necessary for her to show any ounce of strength she had right now.

"This isn't love, Klaus - not on my part anyway." She muttered, shaking her head hastily at him as if the gesture was going to convince him more than her words.

"How do you know?"

How did she know? Everyone talked about love as some sort of overwhelming source that filled your chest and made everything in your life lighter – but that was just fantasy written for teenage school girls to distract them from the mediocrity of the world. Love wasn't all hearts and flowers.

It was raw emotions, and they were something she definitely shared with the man in front of her. He was one of the few people she trusted, and after everything that had happened, here she was in his bedroom after sharing his bed for the night. She'd seen this man kill people, fought with him verbally on most occasions, but somehow retained a level of respect for the position that he held in her life.

What if love was merely defined by the individuals in it?

"I don't." She answered finally.

Instead of her answer placating him like she'd thought it would, Caroline watched as the embers which had previously died down behind his eyes blazed to life once more.

"I waited for you! It's been nearly fifty years, and for the majority of that I have left you well alone. I let you live your life unhindered by my presence, and I helped you when you called upon me. I have done _everything_ that I was told."

As he shouted, Caroline slowly backed herself away from him, but Klaus continued to move forward with her, until he'd eventually backed her into the wall.

"_You _let me be a part of your life, Caroline, so why is it so hard for you to admit that this relationship is more than one-sided?" he questioned her, the volume of his voice dropping, but just as intense.

Floundering in coming up with a suitable answer, Caroline backtracked.

"Why are you even making this about you right now, my mother is dead because of me and I came here to-" She started, but was interrupted by his bitter, angry tone almost immediately.

"You came here because you thought you could fuck the guilt out of your system, and I'd simply let you walk away because of _love_?"

He spat the words at her like they were poison, and while Caroline had tried to convince him that she did not reciprocate his feelings, when he reduced her actions to nothing but those of a whore she was more than a little hurt. He fought dirty and wielded her arguments as a weapon because deep down he knew they were lies she used for cover how she felt.

The crack that filled the room was a resounding one. Her hand had hit his cheek so forcefully, that his head actually flew to the side upon impact and some blood was visible on his lip.

Neither of them made a sound as they seemed to process the moment, then Klaus leaned forward and slammed his fists against the wall on either side of her head. She flinched, but only because she knew that had it been anyone else, the wall would have not been the target.

Letting out a long, slow exhale Klaus tried to calm himself before he once again broke the silence.

"I was right, sweetheart; love is a weakness. I just wasn't aware that the lover was the weapon which exploited it."

_Nor was I_, she thought.

Caroline was no longer able to stem the flow of tears from her eyes, and a strangled sob escaped her lips before she could stop it. As quickly as she could, she brought a hand to her mouth to halt any further betrayal from her body, but it didn't stop the tears flowing down her face. She felt weak underneath his assessment, and this was no time to look weak, but she couldn't help it. Her mother was dead; it was her fault, and the person who she'd come to realise she relied on more than anyone was about to fall into the category of constant heartache.

"I'm sorry." She meekly spoke, pulling her hand away from her mouth and wiping her eyes before looking down at her now clasped fingers. Knowing that the words probably meant very little to him, she didn't really know why she spoke them in the first place, but she felt the need to say something to him.

He deserved better, and she wouldn't have been surprised that if instead of her, he walked away from this. But when she glanced up at a flash of movement from him, she saw that it was a small nod and she watched as he released a heavy sigh.

It was far more than she expected after everything, so she was grateful.

Very quietly, so quiet that she almost missed it, Caroline heard him finally speak to her after what felt like hours of standing in suspense, waiting for him to make the next move.

"It was an accident, Sweetheart."

A whole new, silent wave of tears followed the first down.

"That doesn't mean it wasn't my fault."

Caroline's guilt was something that she would have to deal with on her own, and they both knew that. While his reassurance warmed her, it did not acquit nor relinquish her of the blame and responsibility that she felt. Klaus knew her well enough to know that, and while she would struggle, she'd get through it.

Leaning forward and resting his forehead against hers, he brought a hand down to her hip and squeezed it lightly, as if in mild assurance of their conflict being over. There was nothing left for them to say to one another, and they now knew where each party stood.

They were at an impasse.

She was not ready to come to him, and he had to accept that fact. The night's circumstances had been catalysed by her mother's death, and on whatever level the two of them may have wanted it, the step in their relationship was born from all the wrong reasons.

And so it was taken back.

But there was one last thing that Klaus had to ask her before she made her exit, and the strain to his voice made it obvious to her how important her response was to him. His lips were a hairsbreadth away from hers, and their breath mingled with one another in the air.

"Will you ever be mine?" he asked, not above a whisper.

More than anything she wanted to say yes, but she knew that she could never guarantee that outcome for him. He had proven to her that the level of trust she put in him was a worthy one, however she wasn't yet sure if she could trust herself or her feelings.

Most definitely not now, after everything that had happened – she needed to fix herself before she even contemplated fixing them.

So Caroline responded as honestly as she could, because if anything, he deserved that. Raising a hand from her side and reaching up between them, she placed it on his cheek and smiled sadly.

"Perhaps one day." She replied softly.

Then before another word could be uttered, she slipped out from under him and disappeared through the door.

* * *

**A/N: So...how'd I do? I have a feeling I'll have to hide from the torches and pitchforks, but in my defense you know you secretly love the pain; it's what makes you know this is an OTP! If it doesn't hurt, you're not shipping it right ;P**

**Anyway, pretty please leave a review and tell me what you think! I'd love some feedback of any kind, really 3 Thanks for reading, it means the world to me!**


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